Looking After You
by Sokorra Lewis
Summary: When Loki is brought to serve his punishment for his actions by having his magic bound so he is unable to use it, a more serious problem is discovered which will need the help of everyone.
1. A Gathering

Authors Notes: I figure I should admit right out that when it comes to comic books, I find it a little intimating so I'm pretty much a movie-based fan who occasionally wiki's what happened in the comics. I'm not sure if that will effect this story, but I always feel like I need to admit that before people read my comic related fics.

Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own anything that is Marvel's. Ariana and the old woman are my creations.

Special thanks to HarbingerLoki for the beta'ing services.

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Odin sat in a room full of people, but at the moment felt very alone and very much his years. He had always placed his role as All Father foremost, feeling a responsibility for his people and the realms they protected. He had attempted to train his sons to do the same thing.

It had taken him several centuries to learn that perhaps being a father first might have been what was best for his people. After all, He was called the "All Father". Perhaps, if he had made wiser decisions with his own children, his people would not be here today to witness his youngest son being punished for his actions.

His eldest son sat off to the side, looking at the walls that held portraits of the royal family over the years. He was alone except for the presence of the woman he had claimed as his own from Midgard. The woman who had helped Thor when he needed it. While she was not the one to teach him the lessons of humility and forethought, she had been there to help him as he learned it.

Currently they were viewing a portrait of the family that had been made a few centuries ago, not long after Loki's short lived marriage to Sigyn. In that portrait they all looked happy. Even Loki.

Further down the room and the table that Odin sat at were members of The Avengers as well as Warriors Three and Lady Sif. They, unlike Thor and Odin, were there to see that the punishment was accomplished. Odin just wanted it over with, wanted to rebuild his family from the falling pieces it was at the moment.

Frigga was with Loki, who was in another room being seen by the old woman who would bind his magic till he was able to use it with responsibility. She had not been pleased by any of the events of the last few years, and had made sure her husband knew that.

The large and thick doors that separated the council room from the rest of the palace started to open, revealing the old woman. She had been a healer amongst the Asgard since Odin had been a child himself. She was not of Asgard, hailing from another planet, its name long lost. She had long white hair, kept in a single braid down her back. She wore simple robe like clothes, and had no ornaments except for a ring she wore on her right hand.

"We have a complication," she stated as she paused in the door way and took in those who were there. "The binding cannot proceed as planned." Voices rose in protest, half in concern for the one being punished, half in wish for retribution. The old woman ignored them all, walking towards Odin himself.

"Silence!" Odin commanded. "Explain." He continued to the old woman.

"Your son has been touched by the Tassaract," she stated, and then addressed the whole room. "The damage done by this artifact has to be repaired. Binding may occur before the healing is finished, but it cannot occur the way as intended." She then paused and stared at Odin for a few moments.

"I shall prepare. You must be honest with those here as to the events that made this happen." She started toward the door. "Your actions, while not responsible, are a component. The Father must heal as the son does, or the son's daughter will feel the pain."

Odin remained silent as she left the room, knowing the rest of the room was watching him. Thor gave him a knowing look, having known the story. The rest remained confused as to the words of the old woman.

Apparently it was time for Odin to confess.

Frigga sat near her unconscious son, running her hand through his hair as she did when he was a boy and he couldn't sleep. Loki used to have such nightmares. He was a solitary child, and probably would never have told her his nightmares if she hadn't heard him one night. He told her dreams of being so very cold, and alone. She always wondered if part of him remembered how his birth parents had left him to die because he had been so small.

She had always hoped he hadn't.

She looked up as the old woman reappeared. Frigga had always found it fascinating how the woman could either made a large entrance or pop up behind you in utter silence. She was there when she was needed.

The Old woman peered down at Loki, left unconscious from a sleeping spell. It always made it easier to heal the sick when they were asleep. Sleep after all, was a healer in itself. However this spell was not put to heal as much as prevent Loki from harming himself while she bound the magic that flowed naturally within him. She had done so before, usually on small children whose magic abilities had developed faster than their abilities to control and understand them. Usually it was only for a few months while they were given quick lessons in control. This punishment was indefinite and since she could not let it dissolve naturally, it would be more painful if the patient was awake.

She placed a pale hand on his forehead near were Frigga's own rested and felt the turmoil inside the young man lying on the bed in front of her. There was the natural pain of having been lied to, of self-loathing. But there was also a layer of what the Tassaract had enhanced, had developed. His anger towards his family for abandoning him. His desire to rule over Midgard (when he hadn't wanted to rule before) and his hatred towards his brother (whom he loved still).

There were remnants of good feelings that the Tassaract had not completely done away with. Memories of his mother comforting him after a nightmare, or when he had hurt. Memories of his father giving him his first sword, and helping him design his personal set of weaponry. Memories of his brother and their exploits together. And memories of a woman who had won his heart. Those last memories were hazy, tainted by the Tassaract and the damage it had inflicted.

She sighed in sadness. He would never be able to trust those memories as true. He would have to rebuild his relationship with the young woman. Hopefully that woman was strong enough to help him through what was to come next.

Loki, son of Odin, would need all the help he could get in the coming months.

Sif sat, her mind circling over the facts Odin had presented. While it had not excused Loki's actions, it had put a drastically different spin on things and she found herself reevaluating the situation.

Loki was a Jotun. He had been left out to die by his parents, most likely due to the fact that he was smaller than normal for a Jotun infant. Odin had found him after the battle and removed him, both to save the child and as a hope for a future where Asgard and Jotunhiem could live in peace.

Loki had only found out this when they had fought the Frost Giants after Thor's intended coronation day.

She wondered if he rethought every interaction he ever had under this new information. Words said in jest must now seem like serious thoughts.

No, it did not excuse his lies to Thor, or his attempts to remove the Jotun, but it made his motivation more clear.

He wanted to prove that he was his father's son. That he was a son of Asgard. That he wouldn't become what they hated.

"All-Father, why did you not tell Loki of his adoption earlier? If you intended that he take Laufey's place as King of the Jotun, why did you train him to hate them?" She asked.

Odin looked old in his chair, his one hand tightening and relaxing against the edge of the table.

"I love my son, Lady Sif. I did not want him to feel different. I didn't want…" He paused, unsure for a second. "I didn't want my son to stop loving me because I was not his real father. So I did not tell him. I thought it wise. No one would know, no one would treat him differently than Thor. Clearly my wisdom was faulty in this case."

"As for the Jotun, I didn't realize I was training my boy to hate who he was."

"What about the granddaughter," one of the Avengers spoke out. Odin looked at him, trying to recall how his son had introduced the sandy haired man. Ah, yes. The Captain who became the eternal soldier

"I know not of what she speaks. As far as I am aware, my son has no children."

"Not even the horse?"

"Shut up, Stark," Fury, the leader of this group of warriors stated.

"Horse?" Sif asked.

"Apparently the myths that have existed on earth about us have….gotten a bit fanciful," Thor explained. After he had returned to earth from dropping off his brother to see Jane, he had finally done a bit of reading of the earth myths about himself and Loki. "According to the knowledge base known as Wikipedia Loki was the father of my father's stead, Slepnir. Apparently someone took my brother's abilities to shift form in another direction. "

"Mr. Stark did not intend to offend anyone," Fury stated, obviously trying to lessen any damage the question had caused, even though Stark himself looked unrepentant and almost amused by the whole thing. Sif hid a smirk. No doubt Stark and Loki would get along under normal circumstances. They always liked to shake things up. However, she wasn't as sure if Loki would have approved of the subject matter of said shake-up. Fury looked like he regretted bringing Stark along.

"Thor, do you know of your brother having any children?" Odin asked. There was always a possibility that Loki had hid the fact from him. After all, his relationships with his sons had not included telling him about all of their partners.

"I know of none."

"Perhaps she was thinking of the future, of a child might have once his ordeal is through," Fandral pointed out.

"That would be incorrect, young one." They all jumped at the sudden reappearance of the Old woman. Her robes were now removed revealing a simple sheath of blue. "The child has already been born to a woman on Midgard. We will need her help if we wish to heal the son of Odin."

"Any chance of a name?" Stark asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know where the god of Mischief had spent his nights.

"From his mind I could not pull a name. The memory, while fond and a good one, remains tainted by the Tassaract's effects. She was in the company of Thor's brúðr." Everyone looked towards Jane, who looked at the old woman in surprise. And then in realization and shock.

"Darcy," she stated ignoring the fact that she had been named Thor's bride. In fact, everyone pretty much found that to be of little notice.

"Lady Darcy?" Fandral stated, also clearly surprised. "I would not think him to be her type."

"That's because you want to believe you are her type," Volstagg joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Thor has told stories to us of Lady Darcy. Apparently she is formidable in her own right."

"Heard she Tasered him," Stark said with perhaps a bit too much amusement.

"If Lady Darcy is indeed the woman of which we speak, then I have met my niece," Thor stated before Volstagg could tell the story. "She gave birth several weeks ago. She named the child Ariana, although she told Jane and I that the child's father was a man named Aaron Rogers."

"It is possible that my brother took on this name while he was on Midgard. He did claim to watch Erik for several months before he became known to us.

"That would make sense. My memories of Aaron from the few times I saw him in the lab were hazy. He was supposed to be a computer analyst from SHEILD that was assigned to help us with our data."

"Could Lady Darcy be unaware of my son being this man," Odin asked standing and beginning to walk around. If his son had lied to this woman, and left her while she was pregnant she might not be willing to assist his son.

"I don't know. All I know is that 'Aaron' left to deal with what he called family issues about eight months ago. About the same time Erik was asked to work primarily on the Tassaract."

Odin and Thor shared a look. Thor had told his father of his brothers words meant to cause Thor to fight him. Thor had been embarrassed to have fallen for such a trick, but with this new information it seems that what had been a comment meant to cause Thor anger had become an action. He had gone after Jane, but had decided on another plan.

"We must bring her to Asgard," Odin stated with evident command. The concerned and sorrowful father had stepped back and the King was once again before them. "For her own good as well as our own."

After all, this child was his grandchild. This woman his son had been with might not be properly prepared to mother a princess of Asgard.


	2. The Darcy Factor

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and/or put a story alert for this. I was quite surprised to see how many people seemed interested in this story. Hopefully I won't let you down.

Once again, thanks to HarbingerLoki for the beta services.

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Part II

Darcy Lewis was exhausted. Between turning in the last papers involving graduation, and her last couple of classes plus the duties of a new mother, she had barely enough time to breathe. She wondered when Jane would be back from Asgard. The lab seemed lonely now that it was just her and Ariana. Most of those who worked in the lab had been shifted to New York to work on restoring the city as well as panic and crisis control.

This left her alone with a newborn in the middle of a New Mexican desert. She loved her daughter, but she longed for a conversation with someone who could actually comprehend and respond. With Jane gone, she was left with the lab aides who either stumbled over their words trying to impress her (she was the boss' right hand lady) or gave her monosyllabic answers in the hopes that she would just go away and let them do some real work.

She could also use a nap. Or chocolate and coffee, but mostly she wanted a nap where she could lay down for more than five minutes at a time.

She had been told by quite a few people, including her mother to get a nanny since her new income from SHIELD was enough to hire someone to take care of the baby while she was at work or at least for a few hours so she could take a nap. But at the moment she wasn't about to. Partially it was the fact that she was still getting used to the fact that this little person was something that came out of her. She also had to worry about her daughter's tendency to randomly turn blue.

She had been born blue, and frankly those first minutes when she saw her daughter and thought she was suffocating probably took a few years off her life. Thankfully the doctor was familiar with children with mutations including strange colors, and was able to reassure her that her beautiful baby girl was actually breathing. She became a normal peach color soon afterwards, but still had a tendency to turn blue at random moments. She seemed to be able to control it too, and usually laughed when she did at the reactions she would get.

Darcy had decided it was a little early to put a babysitter through that, and she didn't want to have to deal with finding one through SHIELD who could handle a child that had abilities out of the realm of average. Although it might be amusing to see what questions they would ask the poor babysitter.

Today she needed to finalize paperwork for the rebuilt lab Jane had been permission to build so it was complete before they decided to push it back till after they paid for the rebuilding of the SHIELD facility. She put Ari's baby carrier in the holder beside her desk, allowing her to see the baby at all times and then put her new iPod (she never did get her old iPod back, though Aaron...wait, he wasn't really Aaron. Loki had found a way to gather all the songs she had on it and download into a new one with expanded memory) into the dock and had it on low so it wouldn't bother the baby.

Aaron Rogers. She hadn't thought of him (or the man he actually was) in a few hours. She went between missing him, wishing he was there to help, and wanting to taser him for the lies. It usually depended on her mood on how bad the tasering got. She was relatively alright at the moment, so it was only one tasering.

She had met Aaron a year ago, he had arrived to the lab as one of the group of SHEILD experts who were going to help Jane set up her lab and help her run it. Apparently now that they were aware of the existence of Asgard, they were eager to get there themselves. Aaron had been a computer expert, able to do magic with a few keystrokes. Jane hadn't seen him much, but the effects of what he had done had her very happy.

Darcy had taken a liking to him immediately. He was good looking, had a great sense of humor (if a bit dark at times), and he took the time to say hello to her every morning. Eventually he started to bring her coffee and the two would talk before their shifts.

That had led to nights spent on the roof talking about the stars. Astronomy had not been an interest of hers before her internship, so her knowledge of them and the stories behind the constellations was limited. He took the time to teach her both the technical things that made working for Jane a bit easier, but also told her some of the stories, including a few variations that he had made himself.

She had fallen for him fast, and the nights on the roof changed to dates and kisses and finally he spent a few nights a week at her place. She had been happy, things had been going well for her friends and she had someone of her own. At the time she had compared him to Thor only in showing how lucky she was she didn't have to build a bridge to get to him. He was right there.

After a few months he suddenly left, stating he had to deal some family business and he would get in contact with her when he could. She didn't hear a word of him or from him till she was watching the TV in horror while a man in a horned helmet tried to destroy New York City with a couple odd looking robo-snakes.

Thank goodness her daughter was too young to have a long term memory yet, because she didn't want her daughter's first words to be anything she said when she realized who it was. In fact she was quite surprised (and perhaps a bit proud) that she had such a variety of words to use.

However, behind the anger, and the possibly inappropriate pride over swear words, was hurt. The realization that her geeky computer tech boy was actually the most likely mentally unstable and possibly quite evil younger brother of her best friend's godly boy-toy had not come without effect. It had broken her heart. He wasn't coming back, she wasn't even sure she wanted him too.

But she saw him every day in her little girl. Would it be right to use ironic for the fact that the daughter of the god of Mischief had been born on April fool's day? She had her father's green eyes, slightly tinted with blue. Her hair was her mothers, however. Jane had been fascinated by the fact that Ariana had been born with a full head of dark brown hair, more wavy then curly.

Ariana Madeline Lewis was loved and had a large adopted family. Jane certainly took to being a godmother in the last couple of months, probably only slightly out of guilt for not being around much when Aaron was here.

She really needed to call him by his real name. Come to terms with the fact that Aaron was just another lie Loki put together to get what he wanted. It hadn't taken her long to connect the dots. He had left when Erik had been asked to work on the Phase Two Project. Eight months later, Erik became a zombie following orders and Loki was trying to take over Germany.

Family issues apparently translated into "I'm pissed at my brother and plan on taking over your world, so I'll call you later."

Darcy frowned as her pen stopped working. The paperwork had to be filled out and she kept running out of pens. Was there some kind of conspiracy? She couldn't wait for Jane to come back. Jane after all was the one supposed to fill this out. Darcy only knew what half the equipment was for. She was after all a political science major, not an astrophysicist.

She got up and walked to the storage cabinet where the box of pens was stored and grabbed a handful to take back to her desk. She frowned as she noticed that previously sunny and cloudless sky had turned into a dark stormy one and the few aides that had come in that day were looking at it in concern. She hadn't heard of any storms coming on the weather, and she had left all the windows down in her car. _Note to self: Ask Tony Stark to invent a car fob that will roll up your windows if it starts to rain suddenly._

She was midway back to her desk when the murmurs of the aides rose as they noticed a tall figure coming out of the dust cloud that had formed in front of the lab. Sometimes having floor to ceiling windows allowed for a lot of distraction. Darcy however recognized the figure. A smile broke on her face and she finished the trek to her desk, dropping off the pens and walked towards the door, ready to greet her friend.

Thor thankfully had learned that he needed to land outside, as his previous arrival had equaled the loss of a computer and a brand new sunlight that was still covered in plastic awaiting SHIELD approval for funds to fix it. Thankfully it was on the other side of lab from where Darcy worked.

Her smile had left her face as she reached the door. Thor did not have the same grin he usually wore when visiting. The last time she had seen this face, he had just been told by his jerk of a little brother that their father had died and he was permanently banned from home. Suddenly the lack of Jane took a whole new context.

"Is something wrong with Jane," she called out as she opened the door. "What's wrong, why isn't Jane here?" Thor didn't enter the building, but he also didn't seem to notice the four faces nearly plastered along the window looking at him either.

"Jane is perfectly alright." Thor stated, touching her shoulder to calm her concerns. "I have come to take you and your daughter to Asgard."

"Why?" When Jane and Thor had left to oversee Loki's punishment, they had left her behind stating that the pathway between Midgard and Asgard did not allow for large groups of people. She hadn't minded, since she doubted that a baby at a trial would probably be unwelcomed, and she hadn't decided if she wanted Loki to know about Ariana quite yet. Unless Jane felt she needed Darcy's support when meeting the in-laws, there really wasn't a reason for Thor to come and get her.

"My father has requested it." Thor rarely discussed his father, but when he did Darcy got the impression that while Odin was a loving King, he was also not one to be declined. Thor's tone at the moment supported that.

"Cut the crap, Thor. What is going on? There is no reason for the All Father to request the presence of his future daughter-in-law's glorified assistant." Then she remembered his look towards her daughter as he had said they had been requested. Her heart dropped.

Did they know the truth? Had Loki known about the baby when he left? She had been working on the theory he hadn't. Would they take her away from her? After all, she was just a mortal girl, barely into her mid-twenties who had no idea how to raise a daughter in the ways of the Asgard.

"You know." She stated, a slight silver of anger coming through her voice. Why hadn't he said something when He was there before?

"Jane came to the right conclusion," Thor stated, deciding that to be forthright in this conversation would be the best course of action. "The old woman who is binding my brother's abilities says he has more injuries and your presence is needed to help her, along with your child's. It was through her that the connection was made."

"Why would they need my help?"

"I am unsure. She does not explain herself, just commands. Even Odin listens to her when she tells him to do something." Thor walked over to where the baby slept, seemingly unbothered by the thunder and lightning that had preceded her Uncle's arrival.

"Is this your grandmother or something?"

"She is not of Asgard." Her anger drained slightly at the somewhat lost look on his face as he stared at her daughter. He seemed unknowing of how to perceive her. However there was love in that look and he was being surprisingly gentle with her as he ran a finger along her face.

When he had seen her the first time he had just been an honorary Uncle, the title coming with his relationship to Jane, the godmother. Now he was this child's Uncle in a more concrete way, even though still not through blood. He could see more of his brother's features in the little girl, wondered if she would inherit her father's mischievous side.

In a way, he hoped so. He had so many good memories of his brother's antics. He missed his brother.

"We must leave soon. The window for travel is not open for very much longer. Do not worry about alerting anyone. Fury has done this for you."

"Great, everyone's commanding my life now. I'm not sure I want to take my daughter anywhere near Asgard. She's not going to be a token in someone's war game." She knew enough from Thor's explanations that things were not well in Asgard. "She is my daughter. I will not have someone taking her away from me."

"That is not our intention," Thor said softly, understanding her fears. "You are her mother and shall remain such. A bond such as that should never be broken. We need your presence on Asgard, Lady Darcy for my brother's sake. Your daughter should see what her birthright as the granddaughter of Odin is as well." He stepped closer and made sure their eyes met. "I swear no harm will come to her. You have my word."

Darcy was silent for a moment, contemplating her choices. Her eyes flickered towards the stake of paperwork and the iPod that still was playing. She had to admit there was some allure to going to Asgard. Maybe she could finally get answers to the questions she had since Loki had left her behind.

Why her? Why didn't he come back? Why did he lie? Was anything true?

Anger was so much better then feeling heartbreak.

She would go. Thor had been right. Asgard was part of her daughter's heritage and she should not deny Ariana the chance to experience it. On a more selfish level, Darcy felt she needed to go to find answers, and if not answers, then to let Loki know what he was now losing.


	3. Convincing Darcy

Author's Notes: Mariana asked about Sleipnir so here is the deal with everyone's favorite eight-legged horse. Loki was involved in the creation of Sleipnir, but he's not the Mommy. This was done primarily to shorten the characters I had to deal with. However, I wrote a drabble on Tumblr where Darcy still calls Sleipnir her stepson. She also calls the children of Sleipnir her step-grandbabies:) Fenrir is going to be the family pet, and Jory (oh please don't make me spell his name out fully. Brings back memories of trying to spell it correctly for a paper about the Midgard Serpent I did for an Art History class. I failed quite alot.) is actually going to show up later on a little different then the traditional myth. But they are all there.

I also thought it weird that Odin would ride his grandson into battle, so for the purposes of this story, Sleipnir was just a father's day gift Loki got for Odin.

Also tomorrow my cousin is getting married, so there might be a delay in posting the next chapter till later in the weekend.

Thank you for all the story alerts, favs, and reviews. You have no idea how happy I was seeing all those email alerts when I checked my email.

Erg: Just realized that takes out the scene breakers I use when I'm writing. Sorry about that. I will try to remember that in future chapters.

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Part III:

The old woman kept busy as she prepared a room for the procedure. It would take several days for this to be complete. If it went well, the house of Odin might finally be able to heal. It could turn out poorly though leaving Odin's youngest son a prisoner in his own mind.

It would go well. The old woman would not have it go another way. She had always had a fond spot for the young man, even mentoring him when he wanted to find a place for himself other than the shadow of his brother. She had shown him how to use so-called magic to heal as well as taught him some skills in using knives and various length swords. He had eventually gone his own way, learning in ways she could no longer teach him. But she always saw a good person in him, and she would see to it that the object would not change that fact.

The room in which she worked was semi-round, a half dome, and the doorway to the hall along the curve of the room. The ceiling rose high, with the only window far up on the wall opposite the curved dome ceiling of the opposite side. Below the window was a pair of carved wooden doors that opened up into a private garden that was bookended with a room identical to the one she was in. These would be Loki's quarters till his treatment was complete. Between treatments he needed to be in a place where there was limited sensory input. Otherwise, he would return to the state he was currently in, reversing the work that she had already put into healing the damage.

She had magically enhanced the window to produce natural light so she could forgo any lighting that would affect the baths that were both now filling with a solution. It was a warm caramel color and thankfully smelt like caramel as well. Instead it was a formulated mixture that would allow easier access to the inner sanctum where Loki was close to imprisoning himself in.

"Can you explain how this will work?" Frigga asked from her spot near her son.

"Loki would be immersed in one of the baths, while the person trying to reach him would settle into the other. The mixture will allow a telepathic bond to form and allow them to exist within the mind space of your son," she answered not looking up from her work. "The mixture will be cleared out and renewed each day and will only be used for a few hours. Anymore then that both the mixture and those involved would tire and injury can occur." She looked up briefly to see Frigga nodding her understanding of what was just said. The old woman sighed at the look of concern that Frigga had.

"Worry not. Loki is too strong a person to allow someone to make him his own prison. With the help of his loved ones he will succeed in returning to us."

"Will you still bind his magic once he is better?"

"If that is the will of the King. And if it will not cause more damage. Affected your son was, but he is still responsible for his actions. He must face the consequences."

The old woman returned to her preparations. She filled the room with various scents that worked well together. Scents that would remind Loki of good memories. Soon the room smelled like the great hall before a feast. Good food, mead and the smell of leather. It was amazing how much the senses were taken for granted besides eye sight. A smell could bring back a memory. A texture could produce an emotion. A taste could change a mood. In this room, the eyes were closed. The other senses would have to be used.

She walked over to the raised platform built into a wall topped with cushions that Loki was currently lying on being attended by his mother as he was still unconscious from the attempts to bind his magic. He appeared to be suffering less in whatever memory he was trapped in then his previous one. She rested her palm on his forehead to take a look. It would be important to find the good memories. She lifted her hand with a smile. That was not a memory she wished to intrude on, but it was a good sign Loki could be saved.

He could still find a memory of love and happiness.

"I have great hope, Frigga. And hope is very powerful indeed."

* * *

Ariana did not like to travel Air-Thor. Halfway to Asgard she had started to wail, and no doubt half of Asgard was alerted to their presence because of it. Darcy rocked her daughter slightly; trying to get across to her that it was alright, the scary man with the body size sword was a friend of her Uncle.

At least Darcy hoped he was a friend of Thor's.

"So this is the mother of Asgard's future," he stated, his voice deep and calm. She frowned at the comment, but decided he did not appear to be threatening. Well, he was not threatening her. He still looked pretty threatening in general. She figured it was the helmet. She wondered what the helmet maker of Asgard was thinking when he designed these things. Maybe, she could get one. That would be cool.

"Asgard's future?" Her daughter was only two months old. Calling her the future of Asgard was a little premature wasn't it? Besides wouldn't the future of Asgard be Thor? Or was this a general future of Asgard because she was the next generation?

"Your child is heir till a cousin is born." He looked at her as if she were a curious painting. "This shall be interesting indeed to behold in these coming days." He stepped away from the doorway, and Darcy got her first look at Asgard.

"Wow," she stated upon seeing the rest of the rainbow bridge and the towering city beyond it. Or at least she thought she stated. She wasn't sure if her mouth had actually produced sound. Ariana seemed equally enthralled, for she was quiet again, her green eyes wide taking in what little she could see from her mother's arms. Thor smiled, apparently happy that his home had impressed the newest members of his family. If the situation wasn't as serious, he might have joked about their reaction.

"The King awaits you in his throne room. You should not delay your arrival." Thor nodded and wrapped his one arm around Darcy and her daughter and suddenly they were once again airborne, flying over top the city gates (and if Darcy held her daughter tighter, could anyone blame her). And once again Ariana cried out, letting the realm know her displeasure.

Before they knew it, the dark blues and stark contracts of the outside were exchanged for the soft warm glow of Odin's golden throne room. Odin was the only occupant, the room oddly silent and empty. Ariana's cries quieted down as if she sensed the room herself. Odin's were focused on where the noises were coming from and he didn't seem to notice the woman carrying the child until he reached them. While he walked towards him, Darcy searched for signs of the sons within him. Loki obviously did not have any of his father's physical traits, but she did notice Loki had inherited some of his father's mannerisms, including the calculating judging look.

"Greetings, Lady Darcy. My son has told me much of you." Darcy tried to decide whether she was supposed to kneel or curtsey at this moment. Loki seemed to have preferred kneeling, and Thor had never mentioned a preference or even if there was one. Either way, Odin seemed indifferent to Darcy's lack of a physical act of respect.

"Which one?" Probably Thor. Loki probably wouldn't say anything, if he bothered to think of her at all after leaving.

She hoped he had. She hoped he regretted that he left every second.

"Thor. He says you are studying the artistry of policy." Darcy raised an eyebrow. Ok, small talk before we got to the pretty green-eyed baby-sized elephant in the room. She could do that. He seemed to be taking her in, seeing who this was that had caught his son's interest. She stood up taller and looked him in the eye. If she was going to be judged, she wasn't going to go into it slouching.

"Political science, yes. I wanted to be able to help people. In fact, I have recently been told that following my graduation in a few weeks I shall be considered for a job as part of the public relations department of the Avengers." She was proud of that. It would mean a move to New York, but she could deal with that. Her mother lived in Pennsylvania, so she'd be overjoyed to have her daughter less than a day away. Cool. Her mom could baby sit Ariana.

"An interesting profession." She raised an eyebrow. She got the impression that 'interesting' might not be the word he had wanted to use. "Given the stories I have heard of the Avengers adventures, it seems a woman who can speak to the masses on their behalf is a good thing to have." Odin paused before turning to his son and resting a hand on his shoulder. His eyes softened. "Thor, Leave us." Thor hesitated, sparing Darcy a glance before obeying his father.

"I fear I must ask a lot of you, Darcy Lewis." He stated as soon as his son left the room. "First, may I see my grandchild?" Darcy was reluctant to hand over her daughter to a man who was a stranger to her except in stories. However, this was her daughter's grandfather. And Thor promised the child would be safe, and Thor had yet to break a promise to her.

She carefully handed Ariana over to him, watching to make sure he was holding her correctly. Grandfather and granddaughter looked at each other in awe and both seemed to be searching out who exactly this other person was.

"She looks like her father at this age," he commented finally. It was amusing to see the King of a few minutes ago relax in a way that seemed so human. While Darcy knew that there were people who simply did not like children, there were few she had met so far who could resist Ariana's smile. Darcy wondered why she had remembered to bring her iPod, but not her camera. Then remembered her iPod HAD a camera and took it out to take pictures for Ariana's baby album.

Odin did not seem to notice her taking pictures, as he was still watching the little girl, rocking her slightly. Perhaps he just did not care. Did they have photographs in Asgard? They seemed technologically advanced, but their culture seemed steeped with the past. She wondered if she could convince Thor to show her Loki's baby pictures.

Darcy jumped slightly when the throne room doors were thrown open and Frigga rushed in, eager to see her first grandchild. Darcy wondered if everyone on Asgard was super strong because those doors seemed heavy and thick to her but Frigga had thrown them open like they were made of bargain bin plastic.

This was really going to make getting things child proofed hard, wasn't it?

"Let me see her!" Frigga stated her tone that of new grandmothers everywhere who felt they needed to be the one to hold the child first. Odin obliged his wife, and handed the little girl over. Frigga's smile became watery as she beheld her granddaughter. The King seemed to leave the man's stance even more as he beheld his wife holding Ariana.

"What is her name?" She asked softly, briefly looking up at Darcy.

"Ariana Madeline Lewis." Darcy said, relaxing slightly herself. They weren't acting like they were going to take her away. They looked like grandparents who just wanted to see their grandchild. It was very human-like, she supposed. Maybe it was one of those universal truths or something. "Madeline is my mother's name," she added to fill the silence that followed her statement.

"Her family name on Asgard would be Lokidottir," Odin stated, returning once more to a more formal stance. "Ariana Lokidottir. Our customs do not usually have so many names. She will no doubt be addressed as Princess Ariana or Ariana Lokidottir. This is not an attempt to remove your mother's influence."

Darcy decided to hold back that she didn't think that Lokidottir was going to go well when she got to school. She had a feeling that telling the King that his granddaughter would not be spending the majority of her time in this realm would probably be a bad idea.

"Thank you for allowing us to see her," Frigga said, attempting to lessen the tension that had arisen. She gave her a husband a look before continuing. "We weren't sure Thor would be able to convince you to come, especially as it seems you and Loki did not end things amicably."

"That is one way to put it," Darcy said, trying to rid her voice of her irritation. She would save that for Loki whenever she got to see him. It wasn't Frigga's fault her son had decided to have a double life. She would rather not discuss the whole identity issue with his parents either. That conversation was saved for Loki himself.

"You mentioned other requests," she continued, trying to change the subject before she started a rant that she didn't think Loki's mother would want to hear.

"Yes," Odin answered, moving from behind his wife. "It appears that during the last year and a half my son has been under the influence of an object we call the Casket and humans had started to call the 'Tesseract'." His hands clasped behind his back. Frigga moved off to the side where she could sit down, rocking the baby as she did so.

"I've heard of it. My friend Erik was working on a project to use it as a power source."

"Yes," Odin responded, his tone implying that he knew exactly what that power source was for, and like his eldest son, was not too happy with the idea. "It appears the device caused mental harm to my son. In order to heal him, the Old Woman has requested that you be brought to Asgard. I'm not entirely sure how she intends to use us, but she says we are all needed if Loki is to survive."

"Survive?" Damn it. She supposed that if it had been something harmless she wouldn't be needed, but it hadn't dawn on her that he would be dying from whatever it was. Or that she would care. But as soon as Odin let on how serious it was her heart had dropped.

It seemed she still cared for the jerk, even if his name was different and possibly had a completely separate personality.

"Indeed." Darcy whirled around to see the old woman standing a few feet from them. "Loki must face the demons that the Tesseract has used to harm him. Each of us must take the journey with him. His sváss most of all. You are his tether as he searches to find his way out of the darkness. He must see the possibilities of his future," she added, pointing towards Ariana.

"What do we need to do?" Odin asked.

"You must travel with him in his mind space. The journey there will be easy. The journey while there will not. But first, she will go. Then the father will travel, followed by the brother, the past love and the man whom he owes retribution. Each shall have a day, but she must carry all."

"Whoa. Wait a second. What do you mean carry all? And 'travel in his mind space'? I'm not sure I want to be in crazy land." She also made a note to ask Thor what a sah-vass was.

"You shall be the link between the unwanted and the one who wonders. You will prepare him for his journey. No harm will come to you."

"Please, Lady Darcy, he needs your help." Darcy turned back to Frigga who was looking at her pleadingly. This was Loki's mother, not his queen. She was begging her to help her son. Darcy looked down at her own child, and knew she would plead the same.

Plus, if Loki went insane she couldn't really yell and rave at him, now could she.

Ariana choose this moment to surprise everyone by turning blue, giggling the whole time. Darcy simply smiled at her daughter; Odin acted as if nothing had happened. Frigga, however, seemed to know what Ariana found so amusing about shocking people with her shape shifting abilities and grinned down at her granddaughter, leaning down to kiss her on the markings on her forehead. That image, which she managed to catch with her iPod camera helped solidify her decision. These people accepted her daughter despite the fact that Ariana was different. She knew as her daughter grew up there would be other differences between her and other human beings, and she would need help knowing which change was something she should go with the flow with and what she needed to be concerned about.

There was also the thought that Ariana would probably not forgive her after that conversation when she was older when she had to be told that her mother had let her father die simply because of a broken heart.

"Alright, I will do it. But I want you to walk me thorough the process. Use small words and go slow."

* * *

Loki felt nothing. He saw nothing. He heard nothing. He sensed NOTHING. He couldn't even feel his own chest move as he breathed. He knew he was alive, and every once and awhile a memory would flash by him, but he always returned to this nothing-ness.

Not quite nothingness. While usually silent, occasionally he would feel the oppressive weight of something upon him. He would know there were whispers but he couldn't hear them.

It hadn't been this non-existent in the fall between the Bifrost and when he awoke with the Chitauri. Then he had felt pain, lots of pain, but somehow the lack of any feeling felt worse than the massive amounts he felt under their hands.

He never thought he could find a new level of loneliness then what he had felt for most of the last year. But he could honestly say he had never felt as alone as he did right now.


	4. The Walk of Odin

Author's notes: Not much for this chapter, except that Odin is a pain to write. I've been told it came out ok, but I'm still not happy with this chapter. Hopefully chapter 5 (which I'm working on now. Got a little behind with the wedding and all). Also there are some elements in this chapter that will be explained in the next couple of chapters.

Special thanks to Harbingerloki for beta'ing:)

* * *

Part IV: The Walk of Odin

Darcy had been stripped down to her underwear. The Old woman would have preferred complete nakedness on her part, but Darcy put her foot down. The "See Darcy in all her glory" club had a limited membership and she'd like to keep it that way. Not to mention she had just given birth two months ago and wasn't ready for the post-baby body pictures quite yet.

She settled herself into the tub, surprised at how the liquid that surrounded her felt odd, but not uncomfortable. It was warm, and relaxing. She supposed that would be a good thing. Hard to go into a trance when one was uncomfortable. It had a slight thickness to it as well. She amused herself by lifting a hand full of the stuff and watch it web between her fingers before sliding down to join the rest in the tub.

Maybe she could get the recipe. She could use this after going to meetings with the Avengers.

"You need to relax your limbs," The old woman stated, standing at the bottom of the tub. "The liquid will allow you to float. You do not need to do the work yourself."

"Easy for you to say," Darcy mumbled, letting her hand move away from the bottom where she had been lifting herself up from. As the woman had said, her body began to float to the top, the liquid flowing around her as if it was alive itself. It was soothing, although the thought of being in _living_ goop was a little disconcerting to her.

"Relax," the Old Woman repeated. "I shall lead you into the trance, just as I explained." Darcy nodded, and closed her eyes, using the breathing exercises she learned in prenatal yoga class. The old woman (Really, Darcy thought to herself, someone should ask her what her name is. Calling her the old woman was getting, well, rather old) began to recite some words over her in a rhythmic pattern. Darcy had no clue as to what she was saying, though she suspected it was one of those cases where the words mattered little, rather the pattern mattered. For all she knew she was reciting some dirty ditty. That thought made Darcy smile.

She felt a shift in her sensorial perception as the trance began to take hold and brought her into Loki's mind space. She opened her eyes to find herself sitting in a field, the wind blowing around her lightly. It was a peaceful and beautiful setting and not one she related to Loki. For some reason she had imagined some place involving metal, not a place so organic. The beauty she understood. Loki had a sense of beauty; he had grown up in Asgard. It was just the simplicity of the area.

She didn't see him anywhere around her, and that concerned her. She didn't want to wonder around his mind. She might be pissed at him, but that didn't mean she wanted to invade his privacy. But she only had half an hour to prepare him for what he was about to go through, so she couldn't wait for him to come to her.

She stood up from where she was sitting, and noticed her clothes had changed into a dark green top and a pair of black pants. Acceptable. Not necessarily her choice in clothes, but nothing out of the realm of possibility for her to wear. She just preferred comfy layers to dressy causal. She looked around her, spotting a lake down the hillside, with a few boats in the distance. She finally spotted him, sitting at the dock, dressed in more simple clothes then she had expected. Whenever he was Loki he had always been dressed to the nines, either in his green, black and gold uniform as a warrior or in a top of the line business suit. Here he appeared to be wearing a plain green shirt a few shades lighter than her own, and a pair of pants rolled up to his knees, with his feet in the water. He looked at peace.

Loki had felt her in his mind as soon as she arrived. The sensation was unusual, but felt slightly familiar. He didn't move from where he was sitting, and waited for her to reach him.

"Fancy finding you here," she stated as she reached the dock. "Nice place." He could sense that she actually appreciated the environment he had managed to scrap together.

"It's a lake I visited often on Asgard when I wanted to get away from the court." There had been times in his long life where he had just wanted to be alone, without the stress of being Thor's brother. He loved his brother, but there were times that it felt like most of his time was spent talking Thor out of really bad ideas.

"Ah," she stated before sitting beside him. "You'll have to show me the real place when you're done here."

"Somehow I doubt you'd ever come to Asgard." She raised an eyebrow. She seemed amused by something he said.

"Dude, I'm in Asgard. How else do you think I got in here?" She smiled a bit. "Unless you think I'm some kind of hallucination, in which case I have to ask how often to I visit you when you dream?"

"More than is probably wise," he stated honestly. He couldn't reach the memories of her, of why she was familiar, of why she felt _right_ or why he felt the need to reach over and take her hand. It was all so hazy.

"Well, hate to tell you but I'm not a dream this time. I'm your Marley."

"I take that is some kind of Midgardian reference, but I really have no clue what you are on about." His voice sounded tired, even to him. He also felt annoyance, because apparently he was incapable of lying within his own mind space. He hated not being in control, especially when it should be a place where he had all control.

"Yes. Now I know what movie to make you watch when you are done getting your head fixed. Or maybe I'll just get you the book, unless the book lover was just part of the act of being Aaron." Loki was more annoyed now; apparently he hadn't liked the reminder either.

"If you are going to pester me, you might as well go."

"Oh, I'll pester you all right, but it's not my turn."

"Turn?"

"Yep, like I said. I'm your Jacob Marley, here to let you know that you'll be having visitors and you'll have to deal with your issues so you can realize there is more to life then doom and destruction. Rainbows and Unicorns also exist." She paused.

"Do I have any say in this at all, or is once again my thoughts on the matter to be ignored?" Bitterness tinted that comment.

"No. Not really. You are going to do this because otherwise you are going to be trapped inside your own head to drown, which would no doubt suck for you. You are going to do this because there are people out there who care deeply for you and want to see you get better and despite everything I read they all seem like good people. You are going to do this because you should be there for your daughter. But mostly you should do this for yourself and stop being stupid."

Loki was angry. Angry at being called stupid, at her commentary about his family (what did she know) and that she presumed to order him around. However, before he could get out a biting remark, one particular bit of information filtered in.

"Daughter?" A faded image seemed to appear before him but it disappeared before he had a chance to comprehend what was in front of him.

"I believe that is what I said." There was part of her taking delight in playing with him right now. It wouldn't hurt him any. "I would go into that more, except like I said it's not my turn. Actually my time is up. Now it's time for you and Odin to discuss things." Loki tried to grab her as she faded away, but wasn't able to and he was left alone on the dock contemplating Darcy's words.

And dreading the arrival of his father.

* * *

Darcy opened her eyes. The transition went smoother then she had anticipated. Standing above her was the old woman with a neutral expression. When Darcy didn't immediately leave the tub, she raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, Fine, I'm out." She raised an arm and the old woman grabbed her arm and lifted her to a standing position. Darcy stepped out and onto a mat and watched as the mind-glop (as she had decided to call it) disappeared off her body with a wave of the old woman's hands. She handed Darcy a robe. She held back a chuckle at the sudden idea that popped into her head of feeling like she was at a spa. _Welcome to Asgard Resort. Where you can indulge in mind-glop baths, get decadent robes, and finally figure out what the hell is wrong with your boyfriend._

"That went better than expected," the Old Woman stated as she led Darcy to a small area where she could change her clothes. "I must look into that." She wondered back into the room, leaving Darcy alone wondering what she meant by that.

* * *

When Odin finally arrived the peaceful lake setting had changed into the throne room. Loki stood leaning against the wall, in full armor. Odin wondered if it was wise to have him go first. Perhaps someone a little less at odds with his son would have been a better option, Thor or his mother for example. It was clear from Loki's need to put them in this place that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

And clearly furious. However, Odin had expected this. His son held him responsible for many things, and it would take a while for the two sort through their issues. A few hours were not nearly enough. Part of him thought of taking on the armored look as well, but Sif's comment from earlier with her tone, oddly tinted with warning, during breakfast came into remembrance.

_Forgive me, All-Father, but perhaps being his father first, and not the All-Father would be the best course of action._

"Well, _Father_," Loki greeted, and Odin grimaced slightly at the acid dripping in the title. It broke his heart to hear his son say it like that. "What is that you have to say to me? Apparently I have a long list of visitors today."

"Only me today. The Old woman will not permit more."

"Why do you all refer to her as the old woman? She is old and a woman yes, but I believe after so many years one could call her by a name."

"She has never told us her name."

"She told me," Loki stated with a smile. He always enjoyed when he got to show that he knew more than those around him. Odin had never figured out if it was in desire to prove his worth since he was not the physical warrior as his brother or simply a desire to prove he was better. It hadn't mattered to Odin that his youngest son used tricks and sly moves to fight his battles.

Loki thought before he acted, and therefore his actions, for the most part, were thought out and not knee-jerk reactions as Thor tended to do. While he could come up with plans at a moment's notice, he preferred to have well thought out plans. It was why Odin's youngest son rarely lost the battles he choose to have. It was the ones forced on him that caused him to act erratically.

"She taught you much. I can only assume that the mentor-protégée relationship granted you more privilege to call her by her given name."

"Romana. That is her name. Or it was when she was once called something other than the Old Woman." Loki stood and walked towards where his father stood. He stood and took in his father's appearance. Unlike Darcy, his father had a little power over how he appeared. Loki kept his surprise tightly wound, knowing that if he didn't, Odin would be able to pick up on it.

"Did you know she comes from a planet that destroyed itself in order to save itself?" Odin stated, remembering the story she had told him as a youth. "A paradox I would think. She was one of the last of her people. She claimed they had gotten too proud, felt themselves too above it all that they hadn't seen the danger till it proved too late." A lesson Odin wondered if he was to learn himself.

Odin put his hands behind his back, clasping his hands together and walked the short distance to his chair and sat down. He closed his eyes and when he opened them the landscape had changed into the room the family had frequented when his children were small. It was a warm room, with comfortable furniture, worn with use.

Frigga's weaving and sewing equipment to one side opposite a large wooden desk with detailed carvings relating to the history of Asgard. Odin would take his work there while he watched his children play, either on the floor between his wife and his work areas, or through the windows into the private lawn and garden.

Loki looked displeased. Odin had lived long enough to know a few tricks of his own. He had chosen this because he was here as a father. Not as the King. Sif's advice was sound, even if he hadn't wanted to hear it. They were here because he took his role as All-father as a higher priority than that of Loki's Father.

"Sit down, son. Even though we are not using our physical bodies, standing will be tiring." Loki ignored the request, choosing instead to explore the environment that his father had created.

"So it is true then. Romana has sent you here along with Darcy to fix me like I'm some broken toy."

"To help you, not fix you. I see Lady Darcy did not truly explain the situation. Your interaction with the Tesseract has left damage. Romana has sensed that it used our…unsolved family issues against you and unless we deal with them, you will continue to be slowly trapped within your own mind."

"How thoughtful of her. Get along with your so-called relatives or possibly spend eternity in a make-believe world. Had she not considered that perhaps that latter is a more attractive option."

"If you truly believed that, you would not be here. You are powerful enough still, my son."

"I desire answers. That is all." Odin nodded in response.

"And I shall try to answer them. But first you must ask. We never did finish our conversation."

"And what conversation would that be? The one where you told me I'm actually a monster or the one where you decided I wasn't worth trying for?"

"The first, though that was not what I was telling you in either case. Yes, you are a Frost Giant biologically, and they have often been enemies of those in Asgard, but never have I thought them or you, especially you, a monster. I am sorry that you were ever taught to think that way."

"How else was I supposed to think?" Loki yelled turning to face his father. His face clearly showed his anger, and sense of betrayal over the issue, but Odin hardly needed to see it. Romana's warning that the experience would be as draining for him as it was for his son because there was no way to hide emotions in this space was certainly proven true. He could feel Loki's emotions around him, crashing into the walls and reflecting back.

"You would tell Thor and I great stories about your battles with them, how they were going to destroy Midgard with another ice age. Told us how right you were to overtake them in battle, how righteous the fight was. How was that not depicting them as the villain of the story? "

As his son went silent, more of Sif's words from earlier in the day about how if his plan was to make Loki return to Jotunhiem as their king, to rule over it in peace, shouldn't he have allowed Loki to learn what it was to be a frost Giant.

Instead he had taught his son how to be an Asgardian. And his son had thrived, but also had struggled within the confines of what people expected of him.

"Clearly I failed to get across the message. The message was not about who was the hero, who was the villain. The message was that as King, we are obligated to protect those under our rule, or those who we have pledged protection. We don't seek out war, but must defend ourselves."

"You just made that up. You are a terrible liar, Father."

"Yet you don't believe I see you as my son. That would state that I managed to lie for thousands of years about my affection for you. Why is it you doubt my love, but not your mother's?" That had bothered Odin. That Loki could easily believe that Odin had not loved him, yet never had a doubt about Frigga. How could his son not see the affection _both_ his parents held for him?

"Why do I not doubt Mother's love? Simple. She never made me feel like I was the lesser son. In her eyes I've always been equal to Thor. I stand beside him not behind him."

"So this is about the rivalry with your brother."

"No." Loki's frustration was clear to Odin and vice versa. It seemed neither one felt they could state what the issue between them was.

"Perhaps," Odin said after a few moments of silence, "You will understand better after a few years of fatherhood yourself."

"That is the second time someone has mentioned a child. As far as I am aware I have none, unless you include Sleipnir, but he is not a child of mine, merely a creature I helped create. And Darcy said it was a daughter."

"Yes, a daughter it is. She looks remarkably like you did when you were young." Odin focused and brought forth an image of Ariana. He could not bring her physically into the mind space, but he could give his son a look at his child.

He also made sure the memory he drew from included the moment that Ariana turned blue while giggling. Perhaps, Odin mused, if his son could learn to love his daughter's Jotun form, he could learn to love himself as well. Odin wasn't completely blind and realized that some of Loki's issues were in the fact that he saw the Giants as monsters, ergo he was one.

The Tesseract had amplified that. He doubted anything he could say could really dispel the thought.

"Hey Gramps, bath time's up," The two men looked over to see Darcy smiling at them from her position on the desk. Unlike the last time, she wore an outfit more befitting a Princess of Asgard. Odin frowned. He knew that Darcy required the bath same as him. Had they immersed both of them in the same bath? There hadn't been any room for more than one person at a time.

"Bath time?" Loki asked. What exactly was she up to.

"In order to facilitate the telepathic connection, Romana has us floating in a special solution meant to both strengthen the connection as well as protect any of those involved from psionic backlash," Odin answered.

"So am I to assume that I am also in a bath?"

"Yep," Darcy answered with a smile, "but don't worry – Romana and your mom got you ready. And you are totally immersed with this funky air mask. Kinda cool looking. But she sent me in to let you know that the bath is becoming exhausted, if a liquid could become exhausted, and that it was time to leave. On the bright side, this stuff really makes your skin feel soft. I bet she could market this on earth and make a fortune. Hell, my mother might buy half the stock."

"How are you connected?" Odin stated, and Loki seemed to catch the reason behind that remark because his eyes narrowed. Darcy's happy demeanor also changed, and she sent a glare towards his son.

"Apparently, Loki-Aaron here bonded us and we can communicate like this as long as we have some kind of physical connection, so the bath is only necessary for long term communication. I'm holding his hand right now. This is another thing that's going on my list of things we are going to discuss when it's my hour to do so."

"Are you sure an hour is going to be enough," Loki responded. "You seem to be coming up with quite a list."

"Oh. Of course not." Her tone matched his own and Odin had to keep from sharing his amusement. These two would be interesting to watch. "But I don't want to over tire you quite yet."

"So you think that having a conversation with you will tire me."

"Who said anything about a conversation? " She paused in her statement, looking like she was clearly paying attention to something they could not sense. "Ok, apparently we are pushing it, so time to wake up Odin. See ya later, Loki love." And with that she disappeared followed shortly by Odin.

Loki sighed in frustration. He wasn't sure what exactly Romana was up to. He had been taught about mind space connections, but in none of those lessons had there been any mention of a bath being involved. And he certainly never bonded with anything. He knew that it was common enough amongst the Asgard to create mental bonds after decades of being together, but he had never found the need or want to create such a bond himself.

He briefly recalled the image Odin had presented him. His mother holding a beautiful little girl as she joyfully turned blue and then back to peach again. A mix of emotions surged in him. Disbelief, sadness, happiness, distrust.

He closed his eyes and brought his emotions to an even keel. If he understood correctly, he would be seeing Darcy and another visitor in a few hours. He planned to be the one in control when he was visited again.

So involved was his planning that he almost missed the fact that he hadn't sunk back into the blackness, but instead was in a new place, a rooftop with a set of lawn furniture.


	5. Interlude

Author Notes: I'm sorry for the wait for this chapter. It was a combination of getting behind on some RL stuff, email malfunctions and hitting a snag in my writing. On the bright side, Chapter 6 is done and awaiting final revisions before upload, so it should be a shorter wait. I am hoping to once again get to the point where I'm ahead of the game though, so this time I'm not going to promise a particular timeframe for updating (last time jinxed me).

At this time I'm thinking this is going to be 13 chapters, but that could change as time goes by.

Thanks to HarbingerLoki who took the time to beta this not once but twice after I made a bunch of revisions. Mucho Gracias!

And now onto the chapter!

* * *

Part V: Interlude

Odin Borson stood at the window of his chambers and stared out into the night. The interlude with his son had left him unsettled and unable to sleep. It felt like they had gotten nowhere. The one chance he had of speaking with his son without his son being able to run off and he had wasted it.

Odin wasn't used to not being able to fix things. In his centuries of leadership, Asgard had lived in peace, a few minor scrimmages that were easily finished without much bloodshed. He was able to run the realm as well as protect several others and not fail.

Yet somehow he had failed with his son.

He had raised both his sons to be capable rulers. Thor had always had more in common with Odin then Loki. Loki was reserved and quiet, letting very few ever know what went through his head. He was intelligent and had over the years even assisted Odin in plans for Asgard. Odin had always been a doer rather than a planner. He supposed it was one of his few failings. He had learned from his father that you should think before you act, which was a lesson he had to teach Thor by sending him to Midgard. Loki had always been a planner. For everything he did, he had planned for months, usually having one or two back-up plans. He rarely acted rashly, although he did like to cause trouble.

Which made his actions the last two years make no sense to his father. Loki had never craved the role of King as Thor had. He had preferred to be the one in the background, even though he would have been a capable leader should the need come. It made no sense for him to go to Midgard and take over in such a manner. Loki liked to manipulate a situation, not go in with force.

"Odin, what are you doing at this strange hour?" He turned to face his wife at the sound of her sleepy voice. Most of Asgard was asleep at this time. She walked over to join him at the window.

"Thinking, my dear," he responded with a smile. However, thousands of years of marriage had made Frigga well aware when her husband wasn't completely forth coming. It didn't take much to connect his 'thinking' to his recent experience with Loki.

"He'll be fine, Odin. We have to trust in that."

"He does not believe I love him."

"He is still reeling from the shock. I'm sure in time he will come to understand that you are his father, no matter what his genetics say." She tilted her head and leaned against his shoulder, pausing to think over her next words before she said them. "You told him he was supposed to be king of Jotunheim. You never got to tell him the rest. Perhaps you should write down your thoughts, the whole story, in a letter for him to read once he is able. Maybe having physical distance might allow him to hear your words as well as allow you to be able to figure out what you wish to tell him. Right now, he can't help but think of those moments when he learned he was not what he thought he was." She placed a hand on her husband's elbow, and he brought his own up to join hers.

"Perhaps. Perhaps Thor will get through him when he visits him tomorrow."

"You know," Frigga commented as she began to drag her husband away from the window and towards their bed. "Loki reminds me a lot of you. There's always a reason for what he does, even when it's hard to see it."

* * *

The blackness had returned a few hours after he was left alone with his thoughts, but this time it brought a friend. The whispers were louder, feeding into his insecurities. It was trying to drag him back in, destroy whatever progress he had made with his father and Darcy.

_Your real parents abandoned you. You were only a pawn in Odin's games_

He fought against it. He knew this wasn't completely true. Otherwise they would have given up on him already. While he hadn't quite forgiven his father for how he dealt with it, he had come to realize today that his father had just dealt with it wrong, but he was still his father.

_They have given up. They celebrated your death._

Asgard might have. Thor didn't. He swore he mourned Loki. Thor took his oaths and honor seriously. Unlike Loki, he rarely lied, and if he had, it was almost always a lie of omission rather than an outright lie.

_Did he really? After all you destroyed on both the home realm and his adopted world? Does he still forgive you?_

Thor had told him so when they got to Asgard. He had managed to get Odin from banishing him.

_She doesn't love you. She loves a mirage. You are just the look-alike replacement._

She doesn't know better. He didn't know what he felt for her, but he had always known her concern for him was an offshoot of her love for his alter-ego. The whispered words still stung though, feeding into his feelings of being unlovable.

_That little girl would just be corrupted by you. You destroyed her mother's home and broke her heart with your lies. What would you do to her?_

He tried not to bring up the image in his head of the little girl Odin had shown him, the girl who had green eyes and a head full of dark brown hair and a tendency to turn blue. He hadn't missed Odin's thoughts behind that. He didn't want her to feel like a monster too. But she was only half Jotun. Perhaps her mother could prevent that.

_You are a monster. Or have you forgotten what you have done. You told the Widow she'd never clear the red in her book, but what about you? How far in the red are you now, Laufeyson?_

* * *

In the middle of the night, Darcy woke with a start at the sound of her daughter crying. At first, she just sat on her bed, breathing deeply, trying to catch her own breath. It had felt like someone had tried to rip her heart from her chest, something cold and foreign pressing down upon her.

She ran to her daughter's room, and picked her up, rocking her to calm both her daughter and herself. Something was coming after them, she could feel it. She knew she was more fanciful then Jane, who would only believe something if there was physical evidence and about three peer-reviewed articles about it. But, sometimes she just knew.

For example, she knew the moment her father died despite being hours away and having no idea there was a problem.

She knew she needed to take that internship though physics sounded incomprehensible to her and despite what she said she really didn't need those six credits.

Or how she knew that guy who yelled at her for taking his parking spot was going to leave a lasting impression on her life.

She. Just. Knew.

Right now though, she knew something was trying to come after her and her daughter. The feel of something cold with the ability to reach into them without physically being there, pressing down on her chest. She still felt the phantom touch, even as she held her daughter against her. It did not feel friendly in any sense of the word. She could tell that the presence that had caused it was gone, but that did not make her feel much better.

She paused in her pacing for a moment before turning towards the door. She left the room and found herself in the hallway without any idea of where to go to find Romana, the only person she figured who would give her answers. Clearly, there was something new at stake here. If the woman did not already know of it, she no doubt could figure something out.

"Lady Darcy?" Darcy jumped at the voice, not expecting anyone there in the hall. Ariana didn't like the disruption, letting out a little cry, but as soon as her mother rocked her again, she quieted down. Darcy turned her attention to the warrior, Sif, who had been sitting on a cushioned bench outside of her suite.

"No need to call me that, Lady Sif. Darcy is just fine." She said with a smile. She knew Thor had mentioned that there would be someone to protect her, in case of extra curious citizens, but she hadn't expected to know the person sent. She also was unsure on how to interact with Sif. Sif was a goddess, and one of Thor's closest friends. She was also someone who had been on an opposing side to Loki, with legitimate reasons to dislike the younger prince.

"You are the mother of royal," Sif stated, seemingly figuring out part of the issue. "You are rightfully to be held in honor. However, if it will make you more comfortable, I will call you Darcy. By that same token, you can call me Sif." She gave Darcy a reassuring smile.

Sif had only known this woman briefly from those hours spent on Midgard with Thor. However, given Thor's respect for her and the stories he had related afterwards, she seemed to be a remarkable Midgardian. She wished to know more about her, especially now that she stood to be the one to help Loki, and would no doubt be visiting Asgard often with her daughter. Sif held no illusions that she would stay on Asgard permanently. Most people were partial to their home realms.

"Do you happen to know where Romana is?" Darcy asked after a moment of silence where both women tried to figure out how to address the other.

"Her rooms are next to the healing chambers," Sif replied, holding a hand out in that direction. She started to move, knowing that Darcy would follow her. "Is something wrong with your daughter?" Her tone held genuine concern. Asgard was not unfamiliar with hybrid children, so she knew that many had problems during their early months in adapting to their mixed heritage.

It made her wonder about Loki and how in all their years of friendship, love and even distrust she had never once guessed he was not the son of the King. Her mother had told her that there had been rumors when Loki was first introduced that he wasn't actually Frigga's son, but the son of one of Odin's other lovers whom Frigga had adopted. But no one had thought him not the son of Odin.

"Yes and no. It's hard to explain." Darcy bit her lip as she tried to sort her thoughts. "Most people will assume I am crazy. Which is probably not the right way to start this, but it's out." She paused once more. "Have you ever felt like something was sitting on your chest even though no one was there?"

Sif frowned. Her medical knowledge was rudimentary. "I have heard panic attacks referred to as such, but somehow I suspect that is not what you believe this is."

"No. It felt like someone sat on my chest while trying to yank out my heart at the same time. And either Ariana felt it too, or she picked up on my distress. I'd rather Romana checked her over to make sure."

"Sound decision. I have learned that instinct is often a good indicator. If you feel danger, there is a possibility. You should know there are plenty here who would do their utmost to protect you and your daughter from harm, I included." Before Darcy had time to respond, they had reached Romana's quarters, only to find the woman standing at the door.

"I see you felt it too," she said to the two women, reaching out for the child. "Come inside. We need not speak this to the halls." She led them into her room which was smaller than Darcy's guest quarters. There was a small sitting area next to the door with an archway that led into the bedroom. Inside the bedroom was a larger four-poster bed, a desk area that was remarkably clean and organized and a larger wardrobe with an old fashioned pocket watch wrapped around the one handle.

Romana noticed Darcy's curiosity and smiled as she walked towards the wardrobe itself, shifting the baby into one arm so she could open the door while safely holding Ariana. She walked into the wardrobe, leaving the other two outside in confusion.

"You are coming, aren't you?" she asked from inside the wardrobe. Darcy shared a glance at Sif who looked equally unsure about the turn of events. She walked towards the door, opening it wider and stepping in, finding herself not in a wardrobe at all, but in a room, with a raised platform in the center with some sort of console and a curved golden staircase to the right.

Sif was equally in awe. However she had learned to hide her reactions behind a mask, and was able to hide the fact that she had never before seen transdimensional space. Unlike Darcy however, she had been aware that it was possible. However this form of magic had not yet been developed in Asgard. There had been rumors that Loki had the skills to create such a room, but there had been no proof. When asked he would just smirk and remain silent.

"Now this is what I call a walk-in closet," Darcy said when she finally focused back on the other two in the room.

"It is called a Tardis," Romana explained as she led them to a doorway beneath the stair case. It led to a room that was painted a light blue but still had the obvious signs of being a medical facility. It was more advanced than what Darcy had ever seen. She watched as the older woman placed the baby on an examination table made especially for this purpose. "It means Time and Relative Dimensions in Space," Romana continued to explain as she gathered a few things and put them on a stand beside the baby. "The granddaughter of a colleague of mine coined the term." There seemed to be a kind of melancholy in her words. As if she hadn't seen her friend in some time. Darcy decided that it would probably be rude to ask and instead pretended she hadn't heard the sadness behind the words. Romana focused on examining Ariana to make sure there had not been any harm done to her by whatever force Romana, Darcy and Ariana had felt.

"How come I did not feel this presence when you two did?" Sif asked, slightly irritated by the fact that clearly she had failed in her duty to protect her charge. She had always prided herself in being observant, but she had felt nothing.

"I am particularly sensitive to telepathic connections, my dear. I believe Darcy and Ariana were attacked because of their association with Loki. Thankfully, Ariana seems none the worse for wear. However I do believe she's a tad bit hungry." Sif did not look reassured.

"It is probably coming up on her normal eating time," Darcy murmured, taking her daughter from Romana who had lifted her off the exam bed. "Is there any way to protect her for this? I know I choose to help Loki, but I don't want my daughter to pay for a decision I made."

"The force that attacked you can't really touch her. She hasn't touched her father's mind, not yet. She should be safe, but she will be able to sense it when it attacks you, and feel the backlash." Romana paused and then frowned. "You were able to protect yourself and your daughter remarkably well for a species that doesn't usually have telepathic abilities that are activated. Do you mind if I exam you, Lady Darcy?"

"I suppose so," she said with a frown.

"Please sit on the exam bed near the wall. It has a scanner I can use. It should be quick and painless and allow you to return to your daughter as soon as possible. Sif, could you hold Ariana for a moment?"

"Yes, of course." Darcy reluctantly let her daughter go again, caught between worry and amusement at the look Sif had on her face as she tried to establish how to properly hold the child. She supposed that warrior woman weren't often asked to babysit their relatives. Once Sif had a proper hold on Ariana, Darcy joined Romana at the exam area. Sif followed behind, not wanting to be out of Darcy's sight in case something went wrong with Ariana. She was unaccustomed to holding children so young. In fact, she had not thought to hold one until she gave birth to her own children.

"Please lay down," Romana commanded in a soft voice. "I shall run the scan over you in three passes. Just relax, it should be done shortly." Darcy tried to do as she was told but the idea that she needed to be checked out worried her. She couldn't understand a word on the instruments that Romana used. It looked pretty though. She assumed it was a language, but she supposed it could be a design. It was various circles interacting with each other in various patterns.

"It is Gallifrean," Romana answered, having sensed her question. "Very few speak this language anymore, and even less wish to learn it. However, I agree. It does look beautiful."

"Are you telepathic yourself?"

"Yes, on a limited level, though usually in connection to my Tardis or other Gallifreans. However, you are quite shouting your thoughts at the moment, dear. When we are through with Loki's treatment, I must teach you some basic skills or else you will be shouting at any telepath that walks by you."

"So I am a telepath now? Cool. Can I read minds?" Darcy couldn't decide if she thought that was a blessing or a curse.

"Reading minds is not quite what it seems like. No, you are an outgoing telepath at the moment. Meaning I can read you, and perhaps Loki, as the two of you have connected and bonded, but you can't really receive messages from anyone besides the one you are bonded to."

"Bonded?" Sif asked in surprise, rocking slightly to help Ariana sleep. She had never heard of bonding happening with someone from Midgardian. It had been assumed by most that it was the life span gap that prevented such a bond from forming.

"Ah, yes. You weren't there when I explained this." Romana turned back to Darcy and started at the beginning, knowing Darcy could probably use the reminder more than Sif. "The Aesir tend to bond telepathically when they join together. It assists them in raising their children, creating long term bonds with their spouse as well as somewhat permanent ones with their children. Both can be broken if need be. It usually is best to let them go on their own. Parental bonds lessen as their children grow, but usually do not completely leave. Spousal bonds are either constantly renewed or fade away with time and the pair is free to bond with new mates if they so choose.

"But neither Darcy nor Loki is Aesir," Sif stated. "I have never heard of a bonding with those outside Asgard.

"I can only assume that the Jotun have a similar system. After all, no one thought Loki was a Frost Giant until his father revealed it. If they had a radically different biological system it would have been obvious much earlier. As it is, I can only assume that the differences are mainly in size and external appearance. The inner workings appear to be the same." Romana paused to put down her scanner and bring up the monitor where the results would be placed. "However, I am not an expert on Jotun physiology."

"What about me?" Darcy asked, wanting to know what the results were. Romana didn't look up from her monitor as she started to speak once more.

"Well, humans tend to have the ability to cross-breed quite well. It's actually quite unique really. Again, humans are not a particular knowledge base for me. I suspect that is actually a moot point. Ah, yes. You are only half human, Lady Darcy. According to my scans, your DNA has Aesir markers."

"What?" Darcy wondered at Romana's ability to make it sound like she told people they had hybrid DNA every day.

"Without your parental DNA, I cannot tell you which of your parents was the Asgardian, but it would appear one of them was. The other was human. Would your parents be willing to share some DNA for comparison?"

"I was adopted; I don't know who my biological parents are." Darcy stared ahead, slightly in a daze. She had never asked about her biological parents after learning she had been adopted when she was sixteen. Part of her didn't want to think of herself as not being the actual daughter of Madeline and Pierce Lewis, and the other part felt like looking into her biological parents would be an insult to the parents she had that had raised her and loved her.

"Ah, I see. Well, I suppose mysteries don't all have to be solved. This does however explain a few things such as your ability to bond with Loki, and your ability to fight off a telepathic assault without any training, or knowledge of your abilities for example."

Romana noticed Darcy's dazed expression continued and motioned Sif over with the baby. Sif handed over Ariana to Darcy who seemed to come out of wherever she had gone to focus on her daughter, bringing her arms up to take the child from Sif.

"It should be easy to find out which of your parents was Asgardian," Sif commented. Heimdall should be able to remember who visited Midgard around the time of your birth. I can only assume that your father is the Asgardian, as you would have been born here if it had been your mother." Sif was slightly annoyed with the information. Trips to Midgard, due to its current level of development were usually closely monitored. Many went there for vacations away from Asgard, but they knew that they were to leave as little an impact on the culture as they could. Thor and Loki of course seemed to have ignored that lesson. She was slightly annoyed at herself as well, as she hadn't thought of that when she had gone to get Thor.

Whoever was Darcy's father was probably unaware that he had a child. Sif hoped anyway that man she most likely fought next to had the decency to take care of his progeny.

Romana noticed the contemplative looks on both women. Both also showed signs of weariness.

"Perhaps it is time you and Ariana get some rest. You as well, Lady Sif. Tomorrow, we will be introducing Thor into Loki's mind space. Tonight's events will also be discussed. I fear we might need Loki out of his mental prison much sooner than this process will allow."

"Will he be ok?" Darcy asked. "I have been assuming that he would be ok, that he just needs to be pulled back to the land of the living, but with someone attacking him, and us, will this change that?" Romana smiled at Darcy's concern, while Sif watched her with a look that Darcy couldn't seem to define.

"Loki Odinson has a strong mind, my dear. We just need him to remember that he is not alone."


	6. The Path of Thor

Author Notes: Thanks to Lwolf, JustQuinn, and Miki who left reviews but weren't signed ones so I couldn't respond in a PM. Also thanks to HarbingerLoki who continuously beta's this story.

* * *

Part VI: The Path of Thor

When Darcy arrived in Loki's mind space the next morning, she found him looking far from the put together prince he had tried to impose on her the day before. The mind space was murky white, and he sat on the ground, his head on his knees.

He looked ragged, as if he hadn't slept in ages, which she supposed was quite true. Being in a magical coma was not the same as a good night's rest. He was also fighting a semi-sentient glow box while he was at it. His hair was all over the place. He was shirtless, but still wore his leather pants, boots, and a leather wrist wrap. Had it been another situation, she might have found the look sexy, but right now her concern for him overrode her other emotions.

She walked over and knelt beside him, placing her hands on his own. He looked up at her, the look in his eyes scaring her slightly. She had always been able to read his eyes. At this moment, however, there did not appear to be anything there. There was a tint of red to them, as if they were in mid shift between the Jotun and the Asgardian.

"Who are you?" he asked in a clipped tone. She could hear anger in the tone, but thanks to the mind space, she could also feel the pain and fear behind the words. She squeezed his hands, and crept closer. She wondered if he had been more at risk from the attack then they had realized.

"Darcy."

"Why are you here? Came to view the monster?"

"Does it seem like I see a monster?" Her heart broke a little. What little progress they had made the day before seemed to have been undone, possibly made worse. She reached out to brush a piece of hair behind his ear. He moved away from her, glaring. She didn't react, just continued on doing what she was doing, running a hand through his hair, which was shorter here than in real life.

She had no idea what she was doing. She knew that Loki was in a bad place, that he needed to be brought away from the bad memories, made to realize how many good memories he had. Make him focus on the good, but how does one do that with a stranger? Darcy knew plenty about him, or at least the version of him he wanted to portray on earth. She could tell him about nights spent on the rooftop telling stories, or that one time he tried to teach her some knife throwing tricks but they got caught by Jane who freaked out. But at this moment, he didn't even recognize her, let alone have anything to get triggered by her stories.

She decided to start by getting rid of the environment. It was depressing and if they were going to help him out of this, it wasn't going to help. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of the place they had been the happiest together, something that might start sinking into him, bringing out the good memories.

She opened them and smiled. The grey nothingness had morphed into a familiar spot for the two of them, the rooftop of Jane's lap. In the center stood a neon lighted pole with the sign from the previous owners of the building. Towards the front of the rooftop sat a series of beach chairs and a small metal fire pit for the nights when it got colder in the desert. She could almost feel the gritty tar-and-sand roofing on the floor under her knees.

"Do you remember this place?" She asked Loki trying not to focus on the fact that he hadn't removed her hand from his. In fact, his fingers had intertwined with hers, proving that there was something within him that recognized her as a friend, an ally.

Loki had been watching her as she switched the scenery around. He felt like he knew this person, but he couldn't pull up the memories. She wasn't hiding from him. She wasn't holding back. When she finally spoke, she had such a hopeful expression on her face; he almost didn't look away from her in fear of disappointing her.

He took his time looking around the environment she had created, strolling around the roof top. It was nighttime, but the area was lit enough thanks to a neon sign in the middle of the area. It had a great view of the town, being able to see directly down the main street. There was even a slight breeze to lessen the intense warmth.

He had been here before. He couldn't remember why it was important to Darcy though. After his brother had been banished, when he had lied to set himself up to look like the hero he felt his father deserved as a son.

He had failed, and his father's look of disappointment would stay with him always.

"_No, Loki."_

He turned around to face Darcy, trying once again to figure out who she was. He had always had great memory, so why would it change now? What was keeping him from knowing? He focused in on her, walking slowly towards her. He began to smirk as he realized that behind the concern she had been sending out was attraction. She clearly approved of his shirtless-ness. Suddenly, a plan formed in his mind. He stood before her, only inches away. She stood her ground, with an eyebrow raised as if she questioned his intent to intimidate her.

He leaned in towards her, not losing eye contact, and kissed her, gently at first. He watched as she closed her eyes and pressed into him. Clearly, this was a familiar action to her. It certainly felt familiar enough to him to wrap his arms around her and close his own eyes as he deepened the kiss.

A memory drifted into focus for him at that moment. One of another moment where they had been lying on a blanket on the floor with him leaning on his side while she was on her back and they were laughing about something that had happened that day in the lab. She had smiled at him and made the 'come closer' hand signal. He had learned in, thinking she was going to jokingly tell him something in secret, only to find her lips on his in the first kiss. It had been short and sweet, but it had opened up the way for more.

The present kiss did not feel the same. He wasn't sure if that was because this was in his mind space or because it wasn't a first kiss. Perhaps there was a little bit of desperation on both sides. For him, it was to remember. For her, it was because she thought this would be their last.

"Brother!" Darcy and Loki leaped back from each other and looked over to see Thor smiling at them both. He was clearly amused by interrupting them. Loki sent him a glare before turning back to Darcy who just gave him a smile and squeezed his hand, ignoring the blush that had risen to her cheeks.

"Time's up. Play nice boys! I have to go get sword lessons," she stated as she made her way over to Thor. "Talk about good memories," she whispered so only he could hear. Romana had told her this countless times, but, at the moment, it seemed more important. "He needs to remember the good memories." Thor nodded with a serious look on his face. With one more look at Loki and a wave, Darcy disappeared.

"Thor, your timing is remarkably bad, do you know that?" Thor laughed, and smacked his brother on his upper back in camaraderie.

"There will be plenty of time for you and Lady Darcy to reacquaint yourselves when we have gotten you out of this place. We should do this with haste, unless you prefer to leave her alone with Sif as a companion?" Thor's eyebrow rose suggestively, giving Loki an idea of what he thought the two women could be discussing. Loki thought that the likelihood of Sif talking gossip while trying to teach someone how to use a sword was slim.

Thor decided that discussing their female companions was probably a safer topic then what he really wanted to ask. He wanted to know what had happened to his brother in the space between Asgard and Midgard. He wanted to know what had made his brother so cold during those days they had battled. What had changed the boy who wanted nothing more than to be equal, to the man who wanted nothing more than to be the ruler of all?

"So, I take you remember your relationship with Lady Darcy," Thor asked, sitting on one of the lounge chairs. He appreciated the setting; it was one where he had good memories himself.

"Barely. I might have remembered more if it were not for your abysmal timing."

"Fandral is jealous. He had hopes of wooing her, you know."

"He would be unwise to do so," Loki said, unable to hide the slight flash of jealousy that Thor's comment had brought out of him. Without his memories, he couldn't really put a claim on her. He turned around and looked out over the town. He decided to run the facts through his mind.

He was trapped in his mind, a side effect of using the Tesseract or so it was thought

So far Darcy had been to see him three times, his father once, his brother was now here. From the sounds of things he was to expect a different visitor each day till he was able to break free.

"I've gotten the impression that part of my rehabilitation is facing the grievances people have against me," He commented, turning back towards his brother. "You might as well get on with it, brother." The last word stuck in his throat slightly. He had finally come to terms that Thor would always be his brother. There was too much history between the two for him to be anything else. Thor seemed to refuse to see any other role for the man standing beside him than that of his baby brother.

"I have none," Thor started but then stopped. This was a place of truth. His brother had always been able to tell when Thor lied. It had never been his strong suit, so starting to hide the complete truth in a place where everyone would know he lied, let alone his brother was unwise. "That is not completely true," he finally admitted. "I have many questions to ask you, but I'm not sure you are ready to answer them."

"You might as well ask. I am a captive audience, now would be the time. Whether I answer or not is my own decision."

"Why?"

"Be more specific."

"We can start at the beginning. Why did you come and tell me father was dead? Do you really hate me that much?" Loki took in his brother's wounded look; similar to the one Thor had worn when he had thought his actions had killed Odin.

The why to this question was hard to formulate. It seems so long ago, those days when he was struggling to handle the revelation. He wasn't sure what was harder for him to comprehend. There was the fact that he was adopted, although that word didn't quite fit the situation. He never had doubted his mother's love, because he knew she was capable of so much, the idea of her sharing it with a child not her own seemed a forgone conclusion. However, Odin, he held responsible. It had been Odin who had shown preference for his true son, who had made it clear that Thor was the one to take the throne. The words, "_You were both born to rule,"_ had long since become a phrase that held no meaning. Thor's achievements were praised; Loki's own treated as if he had met the minimum requirement.

The second fact of the situation was that his biological father was a Jotun, a king, who Odin often found himself at odds with. Asgard's children were told stories about the Frost Giants. 'Do your chores or else, the Frost Giants might take you away!' What had that made him, the son of such a creature?

"I needed you to remain on earth. I needed to show father I was worthy of being his son," Loki answered. It was the truth, but it felt hollow in his mouth. The idea that he still sought Odin's approval, his respect irked him. "That I was not Laufey's son despite the blood that ran through my veins."

"You never had to prove that, brother," Thor stated. Loki found it surprising that Thor actually believed that. Then again, Thor had always been oblivious to the flaws in those around him. He was quick to anger, yes, but very quick to forgive those in his closest circle.

"Yes, I did." Loki said. "I had to prove that to him, and I failed. I failed to prove it to myself, or accept the fact that my fate was not of my own choosing. One thing I managed to do when I was in the rift was accept that I was the monster my father made me."

"You believe you are responsible for Laufey's crimes?" Thor said, surprised.

"I am Jotun. How could I be anything else?"

"Father said you claimed to be a monster, but I did not believe him. I do not believe you to be one either. Most monsters don't claim to be one, Loki. They just are." Thor paused. "If you are responsible for your biological father's crimes, then is your daughter responsible for your own?"

"What?"'

"By your logic, you are a monster because you are the son of Laufey and Laufey is a monster. If you are a monster, then following that logic, my niece is also one."

"She is an innocent child!"

"As were you, my brother." Thor stood and walked towards his brother, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Laufey may have given your life, but he does not own it. He forfeited any reason to influence it when he left you to die that night. He is a monster; his actions with you are evidence enough. You are not. Not unless you _choose_ to be."

Thor's hidden message was clear. He had not been a monster due to birth. His actions since he found out were of his own doing, and he could continue down that road, becoming the monster he intended to be, or he could choose to try and reclaim some of the Loki Odinson he had left behind.

Loki wasn't sure how to answer that. It was clear his brother viewed him differently than he did himself, and his words about his daughter, who he barely knew, stuck with him.

What kind of fate was he leaving his own daughter?

"You have other questions."

"Some of them have actually been answered already. I think the others can wait." He led his brother to the chairs and the two of the sat down. "Darcy is probably unhappy that I am sharing this with you, but she and Ariana were attacked last night."

"Who would dare attack them on Asgard?" Loki's voice was ice cold as he tried to suppress the anger at the thought of someone hurting his daughter, or her mother. He might not remember much about his relationship with Darcy, but this was his family.

"We don't know. It was a targeted telepathic attack. Sif was guarding her rooms and felt nothing. Darcy seems to think that something is after you, that he went after Ariana to get to you. She was quite angry that someone would attempt an attack on you or Ariana. She is with Romana, trying to find a way to fight back, since you are unable to do anything till we unlock the hold the Tesseract has upon you." Seeing his brother's expression, he was quick to add "Father has taken action towards finding some way to protect them as much as we can. "

"Is there any way to hasten this process along?"

"Well, the idea was that you had to remember the good memories to come to terms for the most part with the bad ones. I am not sure how fast or slow that could take." Loki stood up and began to pace back and forth in thought. Thor just watched him, knowing that his brother could come up with a plan. He also knew that Romana was hidden away with Darcy and Sif in the real world thinking ideas of their own to help. They would save his brother from himself, and then get rid of this new attacker.

He knew that this would not cure Loki of all his issues, nor would it rectify what he had done. Thor still longed to know why Loki had done what he had to Midgard, and what had happened to him in the space between realms.

As his brother continued to pace, Thor got lost in the memory of his interactions with his brother on Midgard. That first meeting, looking at his brother and almost not recognizing him. The hate that Thor could almost feel burning into his skin. Loki had laughed at the idea that Thor had mourned him. At first Thor had thought Loki thought it was amusing that people had decided him dead. It wasn't until he was back at the heli-carrier and could think that he had realized that Loki hadn't been laughing at the idea he had tricked people, instead he had laughed at the idea that people felt the need to mourn him.

He truly believed himself alone, betrayed, and abandoned by those who loved him.

Suddenly, his words to Natasha came back to haunt him. He could only be grateful his brother had not heard him tell her that he was adopted. It had been an unkind gesture that he had only realized after he said it. He had abandoned his brother again, distancing himself from his brother's crimes.

Had Thor not done similar acts on Jotunhiem? How many people had died because a foolish prince craved war? Would he be in a similar position if Loki hadn't told the guard to inform their father?

He realized there were differences. He had been acting out of a foolish desire to prove he could defend his home from the Frost Giants. Loki had been acting out of a desire to show how he was equal to Thor and Odin, with a desire to earn their respect and show he could be a good ruler.

However, his desires were corrupted by whatever happened in that abyss. The Tesseract had wrapped itself around Loki's wounded heart and pressed tightly to bring Loki to where he was. That hadn't been all though.

There had been moments, when Loki looked like he wanted to give in, to turn back the floods he had instigated open. Those moments were short, however often, when Loki returned to wanting to destroy what was precious to Thor, it became a bit worse each time. It felt like he was tied down by some force which allowed him to come up for air, only to snap him back down.

Thor broke out of his thoughts when his brother suddenly grasped his head and bent over. It was only then that he realized how cold he was, and how dark it had become. He reached out and grabbed his brother on the arm, holding him upright.

_Ah, Thor Odinson, the lesser minded one._ Thor kept ahold of his brother, even though Loki fought against it. This must be the one attacking his brother. _See, Laufeyson, even your brother comes to see the monster in its cage._

"Stop your lies," Thor commanded. "I will not have you talk to my brother so."

_I shall talk to him as I want, _the voice answered. _I only tell him the truth. After all, you unclaimed him as brother, did you not?"_

"You twist my words."

_You see, Laufeyson. Your brother's love is an illusion. You damaged his precious Midgard. You forced his hand into breaking the Bifrost, potentially abandoning the woman he had taken as a lover. How could he love you?_

"Loki, do not believe this lie!" Thor said, focusing all his energy and his love for his brother on the crumpled mental image of his brother. He just hoped it was enough.


	7. Loki Vs Aaron

Author Notes: I was planning on waiting till I finished chapter 8, but as Chapter 8 is not happening at the moment, I decided to post this chapter anyway. Hopefully my brain will kick start and start figuring out what of the many plot possibilities for the next chapter (Frigga has quite a few subjects she wants to talk about when with her son) and there won't be that long of a wait for the next chapter.

At this point, I think this story is going to be about 13 chapters (subject to change of course). I'll be posting status updates on my tumblr account (I'm Sokorra there as well) if you want to stay updated as to where I am in the eternal struggle that is writing ;) IF you choose to follow me, I should probably warn you that I tend to reblog things. Alot. And of half a dozen fandoms too.

Thanks to HarbingerLoki for once again beta'ing'

* * *

Chapter VII: Loki Vs. Aaron

Thor was starting to wonder if he would be able to help his bother when Darcy appeared, a worried look on her face, her attention directly on Loki. Clearly she had heard the voice as well. Between the two of them they could keep his brother afloat. While Thor boasted him up, Darcy turned herself to the voice and pushed back at it, putting herself between Loki and the attacker. The voice seemed to be muffled, as if Loki and Thor had been put behind some kind of shield, deflecting what the person was saying.

After a few minutes, the voice retreated, and slowly the cold receded after it. Thor felt drained of energy, and he could only imagine what his brother's lover felt. His concern for his brother grew as he now knew his brother had been a victim of the voice's attack beforehand.

Thor took a moment to look around him. All three of them were curled around one another on whatever the bottom was of where they were. He could hear their breathing. Though he knew it was just a trick of the mind to make it seem real to him. Loki was in the middle, curled around Darcy with one arm still in Thor's grasp.

"Thor, you should probably go and take a nap. I took one while you were in here, so I'll be fine. I don't think we should leave him alone for a while."

"I do not need a babysitter." Loki's voice was weak, but his dislike for people trying to help him was still clear in the tone of his voice.

"Who said babysitter? Thor needs a nap, and you are too weak right now to keep yourself in any kind of hospitable environment." Thor smiled slightly. Darcy could hold her own against his brother. Perhaps his mother was right, perhaps this relationship would work out to the positive. He knew his mother was hoping for a marriage, and of course, more grandchildren. Odin's thoughts on the matter were less clear, although he seemed to have some sort of respect for Darcy which was better than his ignorance of Jane.

Thor nodded a goodbye to Darcy and squeezed his brother's shoulder before releasing himself from the trance. He opened his eyes to find himself back in the healing room, the solution flowing around him in a calming manner. He felt tired, very tired and almost wanted to nap right there. Before he could give into temptation, he felt the arms of his father and Romana help him out of the tub. Romana whisked away the left over liquid and allowed Thor to walk towards the dressing area. Thor turned back only once to see Darcy, lying beside his brother's tub, their hands connected on the rim. The rest of his brother was submerged, but was slowly being reveled as Romana drained the tubs to be refilled with fresh solution.

Once dressed, Thor helped his father carry his brother (dressed in sleeping garments himself) into the sleeping chambers; with Romana leading Darcy who still kept a hand on Loki's and kept her eyes closed, still within the dream world. They were both put on the bed.

"Darcy will remain with him tonight. She has a more powerful barrier and can protect him. Their connection will aid as well so neither will be overly tired out by being together." Romana watched them for a second. "I was surprised he attacked while Loki had defenses. Thor was more in control of his own thoughts, could defend himself better than Loki can currently."

"He?" Odin asked, noticing that she had given the voice a gender for the first time.

"Yes, the voice appeared to be coming from a male person, but without a direct connection I can't be sure. When we continue the meetings, I shall confirm with Darcy. "

Odin said nothing, instead remembering how they had been eating in the ballroom, many of the warrior friends of Thor and Loki with them. It had been a more formal announcement of Thor's engagement. Jane had been tested and found worthy, so they had a meal in her honor. Most of the main family had barely been up to the task, but had done so to keep those who were unaware still so.

He recalled how Darcy had been in the middle of relating a funny tale about Jane and Thor and a RV when she had suddenly paled and put a hand to her head. She had looked at him, panic in her eyes and rushed out of the room, nearly knocking Vostagg down as he returned to the table from the dessert buffet.

"What about Ariana?" Thor commented, breaking his father's thoughts. "Darcy said she has been able to feel the attacks."

"I feel it might be best that Ariana remain inside the Tardis. The trans-dimensional field will protect them. In fact, it might be a good idea to move this entire task into the Tardis." Romana turned to Odin. "All-father, could you allow a few of your warriors to help me disassemble and reassemble the tubs within my Tardis?"

Odin nodded solemnly. This was a private family matter, one he did not want used as gossip fodder around Asgard. The men he chose must be ones who would not share.

"The Warriors Three and Sif would be a good choice, Father," Thor stated, knowing his father's thoughts. "They are already aware that there is a problem. There would be no need to share the information with anyone else."

* * *

Loki was shivering. Darcy kept herself close to him. The attack had left her drained, but not nearly as much as Loki. She could tell that had she and Thor not been there, Loki would have sunk into the nothingness like he had before.

"You needn't stay," he stated opening his eyes to look at her.

"I'm staying, so deal with it. Although we probably should imagine up something a little more comfortable then this rooftop if we are going to be laying down in here." She paused, biting her lip slightly as a grin grew on her face. "What does your room look like?"

He seemed to catch on to her amusement and managed after a few seconds to alter the scenery around them so that they were in his room.

It was larger than Darcy's room, probably about twice its size. Two of the walls were completely filled with book shelves that crisscrossed the wall and reminded her of a large wine rack. They were filled with books of all sizes, and a few had loose paper. The door to the bedroom was hidden behind the one book case. She could only tell because the door was open slightly, reveling the door shape cut into the wall.

The two bookcase filled walls faced each other. One of the remaining walls had floor to ceiling windows overlooking the cliffs and waterways of Asgard. One of the windows opened to allow one to step onto a bronze balcony. Inside was a desk on one side, covered in papers and writing instruments (part of her was curious – in this medieval yet way advanced culture, did they write with pens or feathers?). On the other side sat a large chair, one that looked very comfortable and perfect for reading on lazy summer mornings.

The bed sat against the opposite all, a four poster with actual curtains. It was done up in Loki's favorite colors, Green and gold, but she imagined this was what the Slytherin dorms looked like. The bed was amazingly comfortable, even in this recreation so she couldn't help but wonder what it felt like in real life.

Above the bed, in between two of the posts was a display of various throwing knives, and a pair of swords she was pretty sure were more ceremonial then practical.

"Do those ever fall on you?" she asked, still staring up at the arrangement. He seemed to feel better, as he pulled himself up to look at what she was pointing at.

"No, it has been magically sealed onto the wall. It won't fall down, and no one can remove it except me."

"Had trouble with that?"

"When I was a kid, Sif and I would constantly would try and take the other's swords," he responded with a smile. It made her smile that he was remembering good memories. "Actually, it didn't really ever stop. I believe the last time was right before Thor's failed coronation ceremony. She never did give me my one knife back."

"So, what's the deal with you and Sif?" Darcy decided to ask. He was talking after all, she might as well make use of it. She knew there was something there between the two of them.

"There is nothing between Sif and I," he responded, settling himself on the bed so his head was held up by one arm and he was looking down at her. "Not anymore."

"So you were together once."

"A few hundred years ago, yes, but neither of us was ready or willing to try to be in any sort of relationship and our affection for each other lessened. We have barely been friends the last decade or so."

"She talks well of you," Darcy said, confused. Sif had not said anything about Loki that Darcy hadn't already been aware of or was really negative in nature. In fact, according to Frigga, it had been Sif who had finally told the All-father that his acts were not in fact as wise as he believed them

"I am her prince."

"I think it's more than that, even if it's just in memory of your past friendship. Your friends care for you."

"Now there I would have to argue." She shifted so she was level with him and could look directly in his eyes.

"Sometimes, I don't think you see as much as you think you do," she finally said. "You only see what you believe you should see, and brush everything off as some kind of obligation rather than real love and affection for you."

"You don't know me," he said, becoming angry.

"No, you are right. I don't know Loki, I know Aaron. I have no way of knowing how much of Loki was in Aaron. I am however becoming more familiar with your family. You are your brother's best friend, your mother's favorite son and your father is helping Romana every day trying to bring you back to them. Your ex-girlfriend has been watching over me, making sure your daughter is safe. These ex-friends of yours have been nothing but kind to me, asking me every day how things are going. Well, Volstagg and Fandral ask. Hogun just looks at me. I think you are a little biased against yourself."

"Fandral is in love with you," he stated, ignoring the slight flare of jealousy. He was trapped here while she got to be with his family and friends was responsible for part of it, but also the idea that Fandral was capable of courting Darcy away from him, like he had in the past.

"Fandral is in lust with me, not love. Even if he was, it's not like I'm able to return his feelings. Sadly, for some odd reason, I had to fall in love with you." Clearly this discussion was rousing her anger too.

"I'd free you from the obligation if I could," he stated, his tone clipped and his words coming out faster in his anger.

"Didn't we already cover the fact that love is not an obligation?" she countered, unknowingly shifting herself forward as if her words would get into his brain better if she was closer. "It is not something you can control like your magic and words, Loki. It just is. Sure, you can help it along, or try to defend yourself against it but in the long run, it just exists and it will pull you up or under no matter what you have to say about it." She got out of the bed and walked towards the window. She looked at them for a while, enjoying the scenery while trying to calm down. She knew she was considered a romantic, and that there were probably people who thought her view of love naive and impossible. How else could she explain how she could still look at the man behind her and feel the love she had for the man he pretended to be? She turned back to face him finally, only to see he had followed her out of the bed, and was currently leaning against the front left post.

"Why do you believe so much in the idea that people do things out of obligation rather than other reasons?" She asked her voice low.

"After millennia of living I have found that most people do not act out of anything but obligation and self-interest."

"Even yourself?" Loki wasn't an idiot, he knew she was asking more then was his actions self-serving. Truthfully his actions usually were, even when they were for other people. What she was really asking however was did he love her back. Was Aaron Rogers a thin disguise or was she just something to pass the time with while he waited for the right moment to take the tesseract?

"Most of the time, yes." He answered truthfully. "Although I have found that sometimes what is best for me also means doing the best for another." Mostly Thor, he had to admit and perhaps his mother. Not many people were held in high enough affection for him to do something that went against his self-interests.

Darcy was probably one of them, as he suddenly remembered a few things about their relationship. It had been shifting in and out of his brain during his conversations with Thor, bare memories which he hadn't really been able to put into any sense of order, but he had remembered one thing.

He had left because he hadn't wanted to hurt her. He had failed there, just as he had failed to win his father's approval, or the reigns over Midgard itself. Somehow, he was suspecting that it was this failure that would cut him the deepest of the three. He hadn't wanted to rule that much, he had just wanted to be seen as an equal to Thor, even if it meant being a destructive force to Thor's restorative one.

"No wonder you can't trust anyone's love," she commented after a few minutes of silence. "I'm not sure you know what it is." She turned back around, and when he grasped her hand to make her face him once more, the memory she had been thinking of herself had transferred itself to him, widening as his own memories rose to join it.

_Loki leaned over the counter, spitting out the water he had used to rinse his mouth out. His body still shook with tremors and his head still felt like someone had smashed it with Mjolnir. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror and noticed his eyes were blood shot and his skin a shade paler then he had thought possible. However it was still a pale white, not blue. _

"_Aaron?" He turned and looked at the doorway, which he had left open in his rush to relieve his stomach of its contents. Darcy stood there, dressed only in his work shirt, hair messy from sleep but alert and concerned. He closed his eyes and lowered his head down so it could lean against the cool countertop. Had his head not been pounding she would have made an attractive image. _

"_I'm fine, love." He didn't speak louder than a whisper, as the raging headache he now had was made worse by loud noises. He thought briefly about taking some of the pain pills Darcy had in her medicine cabinet, but Midgardian medicine was far behind that of Asgard. One of the many reasons why he hated it here. Everything was so…devolved… that he felt like he was taking a trip to the past rather than a trip to another realm. The pills would do nothing against this headache, at least not the over the counter ones. He had yet to try any of the multitudes of prescription varieties. _

"_No, you're not," she stated, walking towards him. Her soft hand rested on his shoulder, and he sighed at the feel of it. At the moment her skin felt so much cooler than his own, though he knew in reality her's was so much warmer._

_Darcy was about the only thing about this realm he could stand. He could admit to himself he felt some guilt in using her, but sometimes the nights with her were the only thing keeping him somewhat sane. The Other were growing impatient. No matter what he did, his meetings with them always caused him pain. It was getting better. Now he just vomited and had a severe migraine. When he first arrived, the meetings left him nearly paralyzed on the floor. And often a faded shade of blue._

_Eventually he figured he'd be able to meet with them with only a twinge._

"_It is just a migraine. Go to sleep." He didn't need to look up to know she wasn't about to let it go like that. He felt her place her other hand on his empty shoulder and attempt to lift him away from the counter._

"_For once let me take care of you", she stated, leading him to sit on the lid of the toilet, his eyes closed at first, finally opening slightly to watch her. She turned around and walked to her linen cabinet and reached to the top shelf and brought down a white tub with what looked like faded lettering. It was no doubt some odd food or product container. Darcy was a pro at recycling containers. She shifted through its contents for a while, before grabbing something and putting the container back on the top shelf._

_She then took a plastic cup she had on hand for rinsing and filled it with water before handing the cup and two white pills over to him. _

"_It's a heavy duty pain-killer. Normally I wouldn't share, but the other stuff doesn't seem to work for you. You aren't allergic to anything are you?"_

"_Surprisingly, no," He responded taking the pills and swallowing them dry before drinking the water. Darcy made a slight face at him, not understanding how he could take his pills like that. She took the cup from him after he was finished and put it back on the counter, before leading him back into the bedroom. Leaving him to lay on the bed himself she walked around the room, pulling the shades closer to limit the light allowed in the room, and turned up the AC so the room was cooler, but not cold. She had him lay on his stomach on the bed and left the room._

_The quiet of the room was helping, as well as the cool air that he felt on his skin. The medicine hadn't kicked in, although he assumed it would soon. Midgardian's had slower metabolisms then their Asgardian and Jotun counterparts. _

"_Lay still, hon. I'm going try and relax some of your muscles, hopefully it will help the pain away. He didn't move, not really wanting to anyway. He was sure that there was very little that she could do to harm him. There was also very little she could do to help either._

_He jumped slightly though when he felt a cold substance being poured onto his back. _

"_It's just lotion. Unscented, so don't worry about having to smell like me," she answered his non-verbal question. He had to smile at the teasing tone in her voice. Darcy often tried to inject humor into tense situations. It was her way of redirecting things into more sustainable levels._

_She started to rub the lotion into his skin, pressing lightly on some areas as she went along. It appeared to be working, slowly loosening the muscles in his back that had tightened during his visit to the Other. The medicine also kicked in, oddly making him feel drowsy. The visit must have worn him out more than he had suspected, because he had never felt drowsy before._

_He fell asleep soon afterwards. When he awoke, he found himself alone, with the curtains still drawn. On the nightstand beside him were a glass of water and another set of white pills. He drank the water, and forwent the pills. The headache seemed to have dissipated. He stood up and walked towards a window, testing to see if he was still reacting to light. That too appeared to have improved. _

_He walked out of the bedroom towards the kitchen where he heard noises. He walked in on Darcy, still in his shirt, trying to find pancake mix. Now that he felt better, he could admire the fact that someone had placed the mix on the top shelf, and Darcy had to reach up to get it._

_He walked behind her and reached up and got it, but decided not to move away, effectively trapping her in the space between him and the counter. There was just enough room for her to turn around and face him and take the box of mix from him._

"_Thanks," she said smiling up at him. "Feeling better?"_

"_Much thanks." His smile reflected hers and he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Thanks for taking care of me," he said straightening. _

"_No thanks necessary," she responded wrapping her free hand in his t-shirt. "But I do expect a better kiss." With that she pulled him back down and kissed him back. After a few moments, he decided to lift her onto the counter, making her slightly taller than him and making it easier on both of them to continue this. Her hands soon found their way to his hair, like they always did. She had an obsession with his hair. Particularly when had just gotten out of the shower, and it was slightly wavy. The first time she had admitted that she was attracted to that look he had just rolled his eyes and told her she really should her glasses on. However he did learn to use it to his advantage over the past couple of months that they had been seeing each other._

_Apparently his lack of attention was noticed, and she brought it back with a slight nip of his bottom lip. He smiled into the kiss as he returned the favor. When they finally let go of each other, they said nothing, just smiling at each other._

_It was a moment he would have liked to stay in for a while, but it was broken when Darcy spoke and his heart felt like it stopped._

"_I love you." _


End file.
